Dr Michael Ambühl (*1951), currently State Secretary for International Financial Matters at the Federal Department of Finance, as Full Professor for Negotiation and Conflict Management at ETH Zurich.

Professor Stefan Bechtold (*1974), currently Associate Professor at ETH Zurich, as Full Professor of Intellectual Property. Stefan Bechtold has earned a leading reputation through his research on intellectual property, antitrust, Internet and telecommunications law, as well as for the economic analysis of law. Since being appointed Associate Professor he has succeeded in establishing ETH Zurich as an internationally recognized centre of excellence in the field of Law & Economics. The appointment of Stefan Bechtold enables ETH Zurich to foster the collaboration between the social and engineering sciences and between the social and natural sciences in a targeted manner.

Professor Volker Hoffmann (*1971), currently Associate Professor at ETH Zurich, as Full Professor of Sustainability and Technology. Volker Hoffmann studied Chemical Engineering at ETH Zurich. He works on corporate strategies in respect of climate change and researches the determinants of these strategies. In his empirical research he constructs large-scale quantitative models to investigate the effects of climate policy on the management and ecological balance-sheets of companies. Volker Hoffmann's exceptional competence is also evident in his strong commitment to teaching.

Dr Markus Holzner (*1978), currently group leader at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich, as Assistant Professor of Environmental Fluid Mechanics. Markus Holzner, who gained his doctorate at ETH Zurich, specializes in hydromechanics in his teaching and research activities. His exceptional creativity and competence are focused on the field of particle tracking velocimetry and the interface between laminar and turbulent flow, among other subjects. By appointing Markus Holzner, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering is strengthening its expertise in experimental and theoretical fluid mechanics.

Dr Lucio Isa (*1979), currently group leader at the Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology at ETH Zurich, as Assistant Professor of Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly. Lucio Isa's research focuses on liquid-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces and particularly on the behaviour of nanoparticles at liquid-liquid interfaces. Such systems can be used as tools to assemble special nanoparticle structures. By appoin­ting Lucio Isa, the Department of Materials is reinforcing its globally acknowledged leading position in the investigation of surfaces and interfaces.

Professor Antti Knowles (*1981), currently Assistant Professor at the Courant Institute of New York University as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. Antti Knowles completed his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at ETH Zurich. He works in the very topical and competitive research area of large random matrices. He has already achieved decisive results in this field thanks to his unusually broad and deep knowledge of probability theory and mathematical physics. The appointment of Antti Knowles is an ideal way of expanding and strengthening the expertise available to the Department of Mathematics in the field of large random matrices.

Dr Joao  Matos (*1979), currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the London Research Institute as Assistant Professor of Cellular Biochemistry. Joao Matos is successfully conducting research in the area of DNA recombination and genome stability. Amongst other topics, he is investigating how coordinating the timing of DNA recombination and repair with chromosome segregation during cell division contributes to maintaining genome integrity. Explaining these processes in detail is important in order to understand, and if possible prevent, their influence on the development of certain inherited diseases and cancer. Joao Matos will enhance the globally acknowledged leading position of the Department of Biology in the field of research into cellular biochemistry.

Dr Sereina Zoe Riniker (*1985), currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at a private research institute, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer-Aided Chemistry. Sereina Zoe Riniker completed her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on computer simulation of materials at atomic level. She develops and analyses coarse-grained models, polarizable force fields and methods of calculating free energy differences for chemoinformatics. She has already won a number of prizes for her research work. By appointing Sereina Zoe Riniker, the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences is enhancing its position in the field of sophisticated biomolecular simulation.

Professor Marco F. M. Stampanoni (*1974), currently Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of X-ray Imaging. Marco Stampanoni completed his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at ETH Zurich. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of imaging technologies using X-ray and synchrotron radiation. He developed a high-performance tomography beamline which is currently the only one in the world with a dedicated phase contrast module for improved resolution and shorter image acquisition time. Marco Stampanoni's work makes it possible to depict and volumetrically quantify phenomena such as cerebral infarctions and the corresponding three-dimensional response.

Professor Stefan Wiemer (*1967), currently Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich, as Full Professor of Seismology. Stefan Wiemer's research revolves around understanding the processes that trigger earthquakes in the earth's crust, as well as evaluating the effects that earthquakes have on society. He has developed innovative methods and software used by researchers around the world for the quality control and analysis of earthquake catalogues. He is also increasingly investigating earthquakes induced by human activity, such as those observed in connection with deep geothermal projects. Since 2012 Stefan Wiemer has been Interim Head of the Swiss Seismological Service (SSS) at ETH Zurich.

Award of the title of Professor

Dr Vassiliki Koubi (*1960), Senior Scientist and Lecturer at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich.

Dr Diethelm Würtz (*1953), Senior Scientist and Senior Lecturerat the Department of Physics, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich.

Departures

Professor Franziska Schoenebeck (*1982), Assistant Professor of Physical-Organic Chemistry, leaves ETH Zurich on 31 May 2013 to take up her appointment as Professor of Synthetic and Theoretical Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University.